Because of the possible connection between high blood cholesterol and atherosclerosis, many efforts have been made to find ways and substances which would reduce the cholesterol in the mammalian body. One of these ways is to inhibit in mammals the body's ability to synthesize cholesterol.
Recently, Endo et al., described (U.S. Pat. No. 3,049,495 and 3,983,140) a fermentation product obtained by cultivation of a microorganism of the genus Penicillium and isolation from the medium. They called it ML 236 B and determined its structure together with two related compounds 236 A and 236 C. Its structure, under the name compactin, was also determined by A. G. Brown, T. C. Smale, T. J. King, J. Chem. Soc. (Perkin I) 1165 (1975). This compound has been found to be a strong inhibitor in vivo of the biosynthesis of cholesterol.